Are You Ever Too Old to Get a Mortgage? (2024)

FAQs

Are You Ever Too Old to Get a Mortgage? ›

A lender generally can't deny your loan application or charge you higher interest rates or fees because of your age. This rule applies to various types of lenders when they're deciding whether to give credit, such as an auto loan, credit card, mortgage, student loan, or small business loan.

In fact, O'Leary insists that it's a good idea to be debt-free by age 45 -- and that includes having your mortgage paid off. Of course, it's one thing to shed a credit card balance by age 45. But many people don't first buy a home until they reach their 30s.

Can a 70-year-old choose between a 15- and a 30-year mortgage? Absolutely. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act's protections extend to your mortgage term. Mortgage lenders can't deny you a specific loan term on the basis of age.

Age doesn't matter. Counterintuitive as it may sound, your loan application for a mortgage to be repaid over 30 years looks the same to lenders whether you are 90 years old or 40.

Yes, seniors can get home loans on Social Security. No age is too old to buy or refinance a house, if you have the means. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits lenders from blocking or discouraging anyone from a mortgage based on age.

A lender generally can't deny your loan application or charge you higher interest rates or fees because of your age. This rule applies to various types of lenders when they're deciding whether to give credit, such as an auto loan, credit card, mortgage, student loan, or small business loan.

How much mortgage debt do 50-somethings have? The average borrower in their 50s owes $306,998 on a mortgage, according to Personal Capital. That number is actually somewhat surprising, because a lot of people have, by that point, been paying off a home loan for 20 years.

Many Retired People Don't Expect to Pay Off Mortgages

The survey, "Retirement and Mortgages," by national mortgage banker American Financing, found 44 percent of Americans between the ages of 60 and 70 have a mortgage when they retire, and as many as 17 percent of those surveyed say they may never pay it off.

Lenders have set the maximum age limit for a traditional mortgage to range from age 70 to a maximum of age 80. You can see how borrowers, aged 70, would be unable to secure a 25-year mortgage as they would be 95 years old when they were done paying off the loan.

A study she published in 2021 found mortgage denial rates of 18.7 percent for people over 75, 15.4 percent for those 65 to 74 and 12 percent for people under 65.

Is it smart to buy a house in your 50s? ›

The Bottom Line

If you're in your 50s, it's not too late to buy a new home, but it's key to ask the right questions and make the wisest decisions possible. Above all, make sure you won't be stuck making mortgage payments years after retirement. Gallup. "Most U.S. Employed Adults Plan to Work Past Retirement Age."

Across those 50 metros, an average of about 19% of homeowners who are 65 and older still have a mortgage. We also found that homes owned by people in this age group tend to be less valuable than those owned by the general population — and that their monthly housing costs tend to be lower.

Along those lines, organizations like Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association forecast that the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will decline throughout 2023, continuing into the first quarter of 2024.

“The top denial reasons for older homeowners are high debt-to-income ratios, lack of collateral or insufficient home equity, as well as deteriorating credit scores,” Zhu said.

As Federal Reserve economist Natee Amornsiripanitch noted in a recent brief, older mortgage applicants are “significantly” more likely to be rejected for a loan than similarly situated, but younger, borrowers. At the same time, loan rates increase steadily with age, peaking for new borrowers over the age of 60 and 70.

Most commonly, the surviving family who inherited the property makes payments to keep the mortgage current while they make arrangements to sell the home. If, when you die, nobody takes over the mortgage or makes payments, then the mortgage servicer will begin the process of foreclosing on the home.

According to research conducted in 2020 by The Urban Institute, buying a home is harder than ever for families, especially those who are first-time homeowners because small-dollar mortgages aren't readily available.

Keep An Eye On Your Credit

Check your credit report and score regularly. Try to always stay on top of your bills so you don't risk your mortgage being denied due to a late payment. You should also track your monthly debts and credit utilization to see where you need to make changes to improve your score.

For which buyer would a lender most likely approve a $200,000 mortgage? A person with a credit score of 760 with a small amount of debt who has had steady employment for many years.

You can generally afford a home between $180,000 to $250,000 (perhaps nearly $300,000) on a $50K salary. But your specific home buying budget will depend on your credit score, debt-to-income ratio, and down payment size.

What mortgage can I afford making 50K a year? ›

What you can afford: With a $50k annual salary, you're earning $4,167 per month before tax. So, according to the 28/36 rule, you should spend no more than $1,167 on your mortgage payment per month, which is 28% of your monthly pre-tax income.

The majority of buy-to-let lenders have maximum borrower ages at the time of application between 75-80, although a handful of lenders might allow you to reach 85 depending on your circ*mstances and ability to meet their criteria. Therefore getting a 25-year buy-to-let mortgage may well be possible if you're 50.

Because so many retirees have little to no savings, it's not too surprising that the majority are carrying debt. The most common types of debt held by retirees are credit card debt (49%), mortgages (24%), car payments (20%) and medical bills (18%).

If you're an aspiring homeowner, you may be asking yourself, “I make $70,000 a year: how much house can I afford?” If you make $70K a year, you can likely afford a home between $290,000 and $360,000*. That's a monthly house payment between $2,000 and $2,500 a month, depending on your personal finances.

On a $70,000 income, you'll probably qualify for a home loan between $250,000–400,000. The exact number will vary depending on your lender, the area you live in, and how much debt you have.

Monthly mortgage payments make sense for retirees who can do it comfortably without sacrificing their standard of living. It's often a good choice for retirees or those just about to retire who are in a high-income bracket, have a low-interest mortgage (under 5%), and benefit from the deduction on mortgage interest.

Additionally, if pulling money from a tax-advantaged retirement plan such as a 401(k), 403(b), or IRA during retirement will push you into the next tax bracket, you may want to forgo paying down your mortgage and instead put the money into savings.

Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, lenders cannot discriminate against borrowers based on age; retired borrowers, like working borrowers, simply need to show that they have good credit, not too much debt, and enough ongoing income to repay the mortgage.

Social Security does not allow recipients to borrow against their future benefits.

So if you still owe a lot of money on your home loan during your 60s, you may want to come up with a plan to whittle down that debt more quickly. And to be clear, the average mortgage balance among people in their 60s is actually pretty substantial. According to Personal Capital, it's $242,651.

What is the oldest age to buy a house? ›

Thanks to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, there is no age limit to taking out a mortgage. As long as you can meet the financial requirements, you're allowed to take out a loan at any time. To take out a mortgage over 60 you will need to be able to prove your ability to repay the loan.

But is there a right age when these factors should be in place? And are these the factors Americans should consider when deciding to become a homeowner for the first time? In 2022, the average age of first-time homebuyers was 36, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This is up from 33 in 2021.

In the US, first-time homebuyers are, on average, 33 years old. The average age of homebuyers overall is 47. These numbers are drastically higher than when data taking first began in 1981. Here is what you should know about the shifting demographics of homeownership in the US.

According to Census Bureau data, over 38 percent of owner-occupied housing units are owned free and clear. For homeowners under age 65, the share of paid-off homes is 26.4 percent.

Paying down a mortgage with funds from your 401(k) can reduce your monthly expenses as retirement approaches. A paydown can also allow you to stop paying interest on the mortgage, especially if it's fairly early in the term of your mortgage.

In the U.S., the free-and-clear homeownership rate was 23%.

McBride expects rates to fall more consistently as the year progresses. "Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates will end the year near 5.25%," he predicts.

These organizations predict that mortgage rates will decline through the first quarter of 2024. Fannie Mae, Mortgage Bankers Association and National Association of Realtors expect mortgage rates to drop through the first quarter of 2024, by half a percentage point to about nine-tenths of a percentage point.

Buying a home after 60 can make sense if you have sufficient monthly income and find an affordable home. In addition, if you're physically capable of maintaining the home or can pay for extra help, homeownership won't become burdensome.

What debts are not forgiven at death? ›

Bottom line. Federal student loans are the only debt that truly vanishes when you pass away. All other debt may be required to be repaid by a co-owner, cosigner, spouse, or your estate.

Co-Signer or Spouse Takes Over

If he cannot afford to make the payments, he will either sell the house to pay off the mortgage or risk foreclosure. In a community property state like California, the property officially becomes the sole property of the remaining spouse.

Mortgage: Federal law requires lenders to allow family members to assume a mortgage if they inherit a property. However, there is no requirement that an inheritor must keep the mortgage. They can pay off the debt, refinance or sell the property.

Yet no-mortgage owners in California are only 33% of all homeowners – and only four places have a smaller share: D.C. at 24%, Maryland at 28% and Colorado and Utah at 30%.

Debt-To-Income Ratio

Once you retire, you don't have access to the full income you earned when you were working. This makes you a riskier candidate for a mortgage loan. Your lender might look particularly closely at your debt-to-income ratio when you apply for a loan after retirement.

Monthly mortgage payments make sense for retirees who can do it comfortably without sacrificing their standard of living. It's often a good choice for retirees or those just about to retire who are in a high-income bracket, have a low-interest mortgage (under 5%), and benefit from the deduction on mortgage interest.

Nearly Three-Quarters of Retired Americans Have Non-Mortgage Debt. Because so many retirees have little to no savings, it's not too surprising that the majority are carrying debt. The most common types of debt held by retirees are credit card debt (49%), mortgages (24%), car payments (20%) and medical bills (18%).

The Dave Ramsey mortgage plan encourages homeowners to aggressively pay off their mortgages early, however. One recommendation Ramsey makes is to convert your 30-year mortgage into a fixed-rate, 15-year home loan. Not only will you pay off a 15-year mortgage in half the time, but you'll also pay much less in interest.

According to the 4% rule, if you retire with $500,000 in assets, you should be able to take $20,000/ yr for a 30-year or longer. Additionally, putting the money in an annuity will offer a guaranteed annual income of $24,688 to those retiring at 55.

Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, lenders cannot discriminate against borrowers based on age; retired borrowers, like working borrowers, simply need to show that they have good credit, not too much debt, and enough ongoing income to repay the mortgage.

How many Americans are debt free? ›

Fewer than one quarter of American households live debt-free.

The country with the highest free-and-clear homeownership rate in the list above was Lithuania at 83%. In the U.S., the free-and-clear homeownership rate was 23%.

Mortgages: An average American household owes $222,592 on their mortgage, an increase of 8.5% over 2021. In all, Americans owe $11.67 trillion for mortgages. Auto loans: An average American household owes $28,975 in car payments, up 5% since 2021. Nationwide, Americans owe $1.5 trillion in auto loans.

Paying off your mortgage early can save you a lot of money in the long run. Even a small extra monthly payment can allow you to own your home sooner. Make sure you have an emergency fund before you put your money toward your loan.

How Many Homes in the U.S. are Second Homes? Through our analysis we found that there are at least 2.64 million second homes in the U.S. that are for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use. How many homes are there in the United States?

In fact, the average person will own at least three houses in their lifetime. Living in one place for most of your life may or may not be your goal, but if it is, there are things you must do as a homeowner to ensure your home lasts as long as you'd like it to.